Are these rays really the same species?

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Warrensmentor

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jan 29, 2012
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Virginia
I was at my favorite lfs today and was delighted that they brought in two "Tea Cup" stingrays. One was a bit sad looking with hip bones sticking out and some white scuff looking marks on her body. Too bad, I'm looking for a female retic. But the other one was absolutely outstanding for a new import. No hip bones, no damage to body or tail, and even a larger than usual disk diameter of 5 inches or so. Unfortunately I'm not in the market for another male retic, especially for $120. As I was enjoying watching them eat, I was thinking, how can these be considered the same species as my ray? The pattern and color are so different! The first pic is the ray at the store today. The second is mine.
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Both appear to be Retics........First just is darker and bolder on the black BB.
 
Retics have really varied patterns. Was the female at the store eating?
 
It seemed so yes. I was surprised. Not with a whole lot of vigor, but yeah. she was getting black worms.

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Is that her in the background in the first picture? Keep an eye on her, perhaps she will fatten up.
 
Yep that's her. I'm not impressed with her pattern yet, and id like a female patterNed like my own retic, but perhaps. I would also much prefer to get a female that's closer to sexual maturity. harder to find with retics it seems.

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their pattern/coloring is amazing, how could you not be impressed?!
much nicer than the muddy looking retics we own. i would scoop them up in a heartbeat! just gorgeous.
the biggest reasons you won't find mature retics in general are because:
A) imported in terrible shape, most don't survive, or hold on long enough to die in the store.
B) underfed in most stores, so they are starved and when you get them home, they are too far gone.
C) bought as "teacup" (WORST TERM EVER!) so they are placed in undersized tanks and not cared for properly, thus leading to even more deaths.

the few that do make it to larger sizes and sexual maturity are of course more rare. thus why only a few on here have success with breeding them, vs motoros and other "prized" rays.
 
They are like motoros in the fact that they all generally look different in markings. Do not get hung up on wanting females to breed. The successful breeders of the world house more males than females. You need males in order for them to compete to breed. If you have one male with multiple females then your breeding success will be very minimum at best. A lfs here had one about 3 months ago that looked like a mini tiger ray. Was very nice looking
 
Heretic, hands down, the male retic pictured is gorgeous. If it was a female, it would already be in my tank. The actual female is not nearly as good looking, not to mention the signs of poor health she is displaying. I'm sure those more experienced at nursing rays to health could ensure a full recovery, but I'm not prepared to take that risk. If someone comes across a source for female retics that is in virginia or ships, please share!

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